Death by the Dozen [03]

Author:Jenn McKinlay
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2013-06-25T21:29:01.484000+00:00

Nineteen

―I‘m not going,‖ Mel said. ―I‘m not leaving her. I‘m sure it was just the aftereffects of the poison making her think someone from the competition tried to poison her. I mean, that‘s paranoid, right?‖

Joe was silent. The entire family had moved up to one of the ICU waiting rooms. Only two people were allowed in at a time to see Angie, so they were taking turns.

Sal, Dom, and Ray were the only DeLaura brothers with families of their own, and their wives and children soon joined the vigil.

Dom‘s little girl looked just like him with a sturdy build, chocolate brown eyes, and thick black curls. Given the strength of the DeLaura DNA, it meant she also looked just like Angie.

She was as cute as could be, and Mel could hardly stand to look at her.

―Mel, I think Angie might be right,‖ Joe said. ―My friend at poison control was stunned by what I described, and he said a substance that was so obscure with such a short reaction time was most likely a deliberate poisoning.‖

―Oh my god.‖

Joe took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers hard as if bracing her for more bad news.

―And Mel, I have to be honest, I don‘t think the poison was meant for Angie. I think it was meant for you.‖

―What? Why?‖

―Because you‘re the baking genius behind the team that is Fairy Tale Cupcakes,‖ he said.

―If this is a competitor, it makes sense that they‘d go after you.‖

―The prize is ten thousand dollars,‖ Mel said. ―Yeah, it‘s a lot but certainly not worth murdering the competition.‖

―That would be true if it was just ten thousand dollars that you are competing for, but it isn‘t. This is a very prestigious competition with a lot of cash, and the competitors all know that the Food Channel is always looking for new and fresh talent. Winning this would be a coup for anyone who had dreams of Food Channel stardom.‖

―I just don‘t see it,‖ Mel said.

―We‘ll have to agree to disagree,‖ he said. ―But I do think Angie is right. We need to get down there.‖

―We?‖ Mel asked.

―You don‘t think I‘m letting you out of my sight, do you?‖

―I don‘t want to leave her,‖ Mel argued.

―I‘ll be here,‖ Tate said as he joined them. ―I‘m not leaving her, and I‘ll call you if there is anything, even a case of hiccups, to report.‖

―I—‖

―Go,‖ Tate said. ―It‘s the best thing you can do for her. She‘ll rest easier if she knows you‘ve gone. Besides, with this crew waiting, you won‘t get in to see her for at least a few more hours.‖

―So, it‘s settled,‖ Joe said. ―Excellent.‖

Mel did not like the dark expression that shadowed his features. With his jaw set and his brow lowered, he looked like he wanted to do some damage.

―You know the contest started fifteen minutes ago. We‘ve probably already been disqualified.‖

―Well, let‘s go see if we can talk some sense into those judges.‖

Scottsdale Osborn Hospital was across the street from the San Francisco Giants Stadium, well, their spring training stadium.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.